Display or presentation (“presentation”) of content is affected by a given user or set of users' preferences. Graphical user interfaces (“interfaces”) are typically designed and implemented for use with various types of software, computer programs, or applications (“applications”), including web browsing, desktop or client applications, distributed applications, enterprise applications, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), visual and graphical design, content portals, electronic commerce, and others. Interfaces facilitate how users interact with applications, often providing graphical, visual, or other media-based elements that allow intuitive interaction. Factors such as the design, style, fonts, color, layout, font type, format, and others are used to develop an interface. However, there are several limitations to conventional interfaces.
In some conventional interfaces, specific or customized programming or “coding” is required due to specific design, structural (i.e., integration with operating systems, other applications, or as part of an application), functional, or usability requirements. Conventional coding techniques typically require extensive time, labor, expensive development applications, and other resources to develop an interface for a specific set of needs. Customization of conventional interfaces often requires further time and labor, or even specialized resources such as elaborate web design applications. For example, to develop a “skin” or packaged graphical user interface appearance for a website may take substantial amounts of time and expert labor in order to support the individual needs of a particular group of users. If user needs change, then more time, labor, and, perhaps, additional specialized design applications may be required. Further, changing the appearance of an interface or substituting a new interface or skin to address different users or user groups is expensive and difficult, increasing in complexity in direct proportion with the number of users. Still further, conventional interfaces are limited in functionality and can restrict the amount of information that can be presented in a given window, screen, panel, or the like.
In other conventional solutions, the amount of information or data to be presented is limited by the design, layout, and appearance of a given interface. For example, using a particular background pattern may be appealing to some users, but distasteful to others, but can limit the amount of information presented on an interface for an application. As another example, the layout of an interface may be designed to appeal to a certain set of users. However, this may limit the amount or types of information that a user may see. Subsequently, users are forced to open multiple interfaces to retrieve or view additional information. Superfluous tabbed screens, windows, pop-up windows, or altogether new interfaces may be required. This results in disruptive user experiences, forcing users to open and switch between different or multiple interfaces, which is inefficient and time intensive. The limitations of conventional interfaces result in incomplete transactions on an electronic commerce site, reduced usage of a website (e.g., content portal, blog, or other type of content-oriented website), content, application, tool, or interface.
Thus, a solution for presenting information and data in interfaces without the limitations of conventional techniques is needed.